Minister for Higher Education and Research Tobias Krantz was more or less a complete novice when he was thrown in at the deep end during the Swedish Presidency. He took up the post after his predecessor in mid-June and chaired his first EU meeting only weeks later. Now that the Presidency has been concluded his appetite has been whetted. Here he speaks about his six months at the centre of European research policy.

You took on the role of chair more or less at the same time as you took over as minister. How did it feel?
"Exciting and a little overwhelming. I came in at the end of June, with the Presidency truly around the corner. I had a pretty good overview of the main issues, but to go to my first ministerial Council meeting was frightening enough, never mind actually chairing the meeting and I could not help but feeling a little bit tense. At the same time, leading the European research ministers was an enormous adrenaline rush. I just had to get my act together and come in with all flags flying.”

There were an awful lot of meetings during the Presidency. How do you stay awake?
“The very best thing to do is to get a good night’s sleep and to drink coffee. Another tip is to really listen to the speeches. It does actually happen that exciting new ideas are presented at meetings”, says Tobias Krantz with a laugh.
“I have had many new thoughts and ideas in this way, especially as I have been so new to the job. And even if not everything can be turned into European legislation, it may still give you an idea of how you want to work nationally. So it has been relatively easy to stay awake. It should be said however that at the last ministerial Council there was not time for lunch, so my blood sugar level dropped significantly around noon. But I was saved by an officer at the Permanent Representation of Sweden to the EU in Brussels who came in with a sturdy double espresso and what looked like sponge cake, so I made it.”

What has been the most difficult?
“To get all Member States and the European Commission to work towards a common goal on the issue of ITER - the European fusion plant project. But we managed to find a position during the informal competitiveness meeting in Umeå. I am very pleased about this, because it would have made it very awkward for the EU if we had not been able to work out a common policy.”

Is there anything in particular that you will remember?
“Oh, there is so much to choose from. But it was very exciting receiving my European colleagues on my home turf and to present Swedish research and Swedish inventions at the meeting in Umeå. Individual meetings with colleagues have also been very fruitful: to be able to share experiences with other countries and learn about how they develop their research policies. And of course there is the global perspective. If we are to secure tomorrow’s welfare we must be in the forefront of the global knowledge society.”

So now the Presidency tie comes off again and you’re back to only being Swedish again. Will you be missing the past six months?
“We will of course not be at the centre of European politics anymore. So I will naturally miss that. It has been incredibly interesting to be allowed to lead a number of important processes during the autumn. Long-term issues cannot be solved in only a few months, but I have spoken to my Spanish counterpart and I have been given to understand that the Spanish Presidency will continue work on a lot of the issues that we have started. That feels good.”